I don't know about jmacari, but I've been quite pleased with my BD30. The BD50 will be a better match with the Model 990 when it arrives in a few months because it will include onboard TrueHD and DTS-HD MA decoding, but since I'm still using my multichannel analog input for DVD-Audio and SACD for the time being I am glad that I went ahead and got the BD30 last fall.

From what I've read, the BD30 is nearly as fast as the PS3 for things like loading discs - which leaves it way out in front of the other standalone players currently available, including all of Sony's players. At this point, my recommendation to anyone shopping for Blu-ray is to either get a PS3, get a BD30, or wait a few months for a BD50.